You hit full professor. You edited the top journal in your field. And somehow you still felt adrift.
In this episode, Kyle Rudick (professor, graduate program coordinator, and host of the Publishing Academic Research podcast) shares how he went from losing his advisor in his first year of hid PhD to building a podcast, a coaching practice, and a career that truly brings him joy.
We discuss:
🎙️ Why Kyle tells his students to build an identity anchor outside higher ed
🎙️ What it was like to navigate a PhD with no real mentorship and no plan B
🎙️ How journal editing gave him a front-row seat to what makes research publishable
🎙️ Why a podcast came first and clients came about eight months later
🎙️ Why he thinks professors should have at least a toe out the door
🎙️ What he'd say to colleagues who call side businesses "selling out"
If this hits home, subscribe to my channel so you don't miss the next conversation. And if you've ever wondered whether your skills could earn money outside your institution (spoiler: they can), you're in the right place.
Resources mentioned:
Publishing Academic Research podcast and coaching: publishingacademicresearch.com
Plan, Goal, Plan podcast, hosted by Kyle's colleague Danielle McGeough: https://www.plangoalplan.com/
Want to turn your skills into rewarding paid services? Go to AcadiaEditing.com/map
Timestamps
00:00 - Meet Kyle Ruddick, professor and podcaster
01:00 - From small-town Oklahoma to grad school
03:00 - Losing his advisor, finding no mentorship
06:00 - Why you need an identity outside academia
09:00 - No safety net: the pressure of no plan B
11:30 - Landing the job at Northern Iowa
14:00 - How he published 50+ articles
17:00 - Why PhD programs skip practical skills
20:00 - Becoming a journal editor
22:00 - Feeling adrift after making full professor
25:00 - Paulina's messy start in copy editing
27:00 - Keeping a toe out the door
30:00 - "Selling out" and the capitalist machine
33:00 - Building a top 5% podcast
35:30 - Audience tiers and a podcast course idea
37:30 - How to work with Kyle
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